17 February 2010

Black and Openly Gay New President for Grinnell College

Grinnell College, a highly competitive private liberal arts college in Iowa with a strong tradition of social activism, has appointed a black, openly gay president who is a deputy director of the National Institutes of Health. Raynard S. Kington, M.D., M.B.A., Ph.D, becomes the 13th president for the 164-year-old college and his background is quite impressive.

Dr. Raynard S. Kington was named on Wednesday to assume the post Aug. 1. He will succeed Russell K. Osgood, who announced his retirement last May. According to college officials, the search committee considered more than 200 candidates and unanimously voted for Kington. Kington earned his medical degree from the University of Michigan at age 21. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Chicago's Michael Reese Medical Center and was named a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania.

Says Dr. Kington: "I am absolutely delighted to join the Grinnell community and excited about the tremendous possibilities awaiting this distinguished college. My entire career to date has been a reflection of the three core values of Grinnell: the pursuit of academic excellence, the advancement of a diverse community and the promotion of social justice."

The statement adds: "Dr. Kington; his partner, Peter T. Daniolos M.D., a child psychiatrist at Children’s National Medical Center and George Washington University; and their two young children plan to move to Grinnell during the summer and occupy the president’s home at the college."

Grinnell is ranked fourteenth among liberal arts by U.S. News and World Report. Until 2007, the estimated value of its endowment was the highest among liberal arts colleges in the nation. A number of colleges boast openly gay or lesbian presidents but the Kington appointment probably makes Grinnell the most high-profile college with an openly gay president. It also may be the only college to be led by a black, openly gay man.

really? thats the first thing that came to your mind when you read this story? SMH

i could could care less what color is his partner...the story is about a very accomplished black gay man who earned a medical degree at 21 and just named a college president. we dont hear enough stories like this in our community and this is the only blog that posts them.

bravo dr raynard kington! bravo! may you enjoy much success! and congratulations to your partner and children!

I don't care what color Raynard's partner is. What's important to me is the fact that an accomplished black gay man is in a position with visibility. Hopefully this news will be broadcast via many media outlets and will transcend and quell much of the hatred faced by gays ( especially black gay men) all over the world irregardless of culture, language and religion. I hope young black gay teenagers learn about and be inspired by Raynard. I am sorry for rambling but this is a breakthrough.

I feel where you are coming from about his partner's race. I feel at this time and moment let's just congratulate Dr Kington on his new appointment. Right now let's focus on the positive and leave his love life out of it. That is whom he chose to be with and we cannot change that. Wish him well.

His partner, Peter Daniolos, is white. It isn't the FIRST response I had-- congrats Dr. Kington, this is great news- but it is part of the whole response I'm having to this news. As a complex intellectual being I am at once proud and disappointed that in this example we see, yet again, the scarcity of black-black same-gender-loving relationships in our society.

Just for clarification: I am very, very happy to see a proud, black openly gay man in this position. However, I am somewhat disappointed (and I'm not ashamed to admit it)that a high profile black gay male is with a white partner. I'm a successful black gay male myself, and am beginning to realize why people seem to always assume my partner of ten years is white. It seems black couples like us are simply never seen. As a proud gay black man, I love showing off my handsome proud gay black partner. If we're an enigma, so be it.

This is wonderful news! I think that small liberal arts places are the perfect setting to make these sorts of moves, and if successful we can then move on to larger universities. (Raising money is THE job of a college president, it is the Provost who handles all of the academic stuff, so we need to be able to show that we can raise money before we'll be allowed to handle bigger research universities.)

@ Dan,

I understand where you are coming from. The sad fact of the matter is that the media and society in general continue to reinforce this notion that black men (especially educated/successful black men) do not desire each other. It feeds into the stereotypes that blacks are "more" homophobic, or that black gays must "leave" their community to find love and acceptance. It is highly troubling to see very, very few images of black men with each other in general, and if you exclude the "DL" and thug images you are left with next to nothing. In fact, many people assume I only date white men because they assume that is what educated black gay men do (and where did this stereotype come from anyway?)...it's really sad.

Great news! I can see where the question would be asked what the nationality of the partner is.

It really does means so much more to know that a Black Gay couple, who are both successful in their fields of work, and have a family they are raising is doing big and great things. I have seen interracial couples that are successful, but not very many couples where they are both black and even less that are males. It gives hope to us who want the relationship with a black man AND both being successful.

So if he didn't have a partner what would you say? Does that change his accomplishments? Or if his partner were black...how would that change the fact that he is a black openly gay man who was the chief of the NIH? And at RAND? And just named a college president?

I understand where both of you are coming from. I am a black gay man and love my brothas. Trust me, I am so so very tired of images of inter-racial couples in advertising and at rallies. It seems the only time we are often mentioned or seen is when we are an "accessory" to a white man.

But that's not the case at this blog. It just seems very catty and very ghetto that your first and only comments are asking about the race of his partner. That's the FIRST thing you took away from this breakthrough news? the FIRST and ONLY thing?

I will say, to each his own. I like to see affirmation of black gay men thats why I come to this site. Its the only blog that finds stories like this. But I understand there are other brothas who have different preferences and there many white and latino readers here. At least his partner his very successful too an d they are raising black boys. (Unlike some cases where we see black professors going after unemployed white actors and waiters..) But that was the FIRST and ONLY thing you got from this? Really?